Retraining people with spinal cord injuries to stand and balance
Born in the Russian city of Salsk not far from the Black Sea, Dr. Dimitry Sayenko could hardly have predicted where life would take him.
With a medical degree from Rossijskij Gosudarstvennyj Medicinskij Universitet, he was hired to work with Russian cosmonauts and U.S. astronauts. His task was to find ways to minimize the harmful effects of zero-gravity on the body. Dr. Sayenko attended pre-launches and post-landings tests. He won awards from NASA and the Russian Academy of Sciences for his work, which included participation in the design of a treadmill and other exercise devices for crew members to use aboard the International Space Station.
Then, after meeting Dr. Milos Popovic, a Toronto Rehab senior scientist, when both were in Japan, Dr. Sayenko grew interested in Dr. Popovic’s research work with the hospital’s Neural Engineering and Therapy Team. Now based at Toronto Rehab, he is using his expertise to help a different group: people with spinal cord injuries. Like astronauts, these individuals experience bone loss, muscle atrophy and changes in the central nervous system. As a postdoctoral, Dr. Sayenko is developing new techniques to help restore the neuromuscular system after a spinal cord injury. His goal: to retrain people with spinal cord injuries to stand and balance.
“Standing is beneficial for the strength and health of people with spinal cord injuries―provided it is done safely,” says Dr. Sayenko. “For those with incomplete injuries, standing improves self-confidence and independence, making it easier, for instance, to transfer from wheelchair to bed. No matter what the level of injury, standing can also help to reduce secondary complications, such as muscle atrophy and bone loss.”
In one research project, Dr. Sayenko is studying what happens when people with incomplete spinal cord injuries stand, while watching themselves on a monitor. Participants in the study were instructed to shift in certain directions. The results? All showed substantial improvements in their balance. “For people whose sensory systems don’t work due to injury, visual feedback provides them with reliable information about their body position,” Dr. Sayenko explains.
In another project, Dr. Sayenko is testing a new video-game based training system that uses electrical stimulation and visual feedback. A 57-year old man with a complete spinal cord injury used the system four years after his injury―with remarkable results. As reported in the journal Medical Engineering and Physics, the man experienced a significant improvement in the strength and endurance of his paralyzed lower leg muscles, and increased the range of motion in his ankle joints.
For Dr. Sayenko, who once wanted to be a cosmonaut himself, this work brings a deep sense of satisfaction. “It’s a great feeling to be useful, to be helping people in this way.”